In the year 2021, one would like to think that segregation is a thing of the past. Especially because racial segregation has been outlawed since 1964, largely in part due to the Civil Rights Act. But an elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia, might not have gotten the memo.
An issue arose when mom Kila Posey, who is Black and has two Black elementary school-age children, realized that all of the Black students in the second grade were put in one of two classes. In total, the school offers six class options for its second graders.
The school that started "Black classes" was Mary Lin Elementary School. And oddly enough, the principal of the school is also Black. That was something that was hard for Kila to comprehend after realizing what the principal had done.
"Why would a person do this?" Kila told WSBTV. "First, it was just disbelief that I was having this conversation in 2020 with a person that looks just like me, a Black woman. It's segregating classrooms. You cannot segregate classrooms."
Kila found out about the segregation when she asked principal Sharyn Briscoe about possibly changing her child's class to a different teacher she thought would be a great match. She had no idea at the time that this teacher didn't have a "Black class" this year, making that transfer impossible. According to Kila, out of six second-grade classes, there were two "Black classes" with approximately 12 Black children.
That meant that her children couldn't get the option of other teachers. They had a selection of two, while the other children had six options, if their parents called in and tried to make a switch.
"She said that that's not one of the Black classes, and I immediately said, 'What does that mean?'" Kila said. "I asked for more clarification, I was like, 'We have those in school?'"
The principal said that Kila's daughter couldn't be part of any other class, as she might feel "isolated." Kila was quick with a response. "I explained to her, she shouldn't be isolated or punished, because I'm unwilling to go along with your illegal and unethical practice," she said.
What was Principal Briscoe's reason for segregation? According to NBC News, she wanted to build a community. But in doing so, she ended up violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. All children should have the same options in school.
An assistant at the school confirmed that this was completely the principal's call to make. "I wish we had more Black kids too, and then some of them are in a class because of the services that they need," the assistant told WSBTV. All in all, this was enough proof for Kila to talk with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights about the next steps to take.
Kila's attorney, Sharese Shields, also can't believe she's seeing this happen in 2021. "It's a bit shocking that in 2021 that you would have a public school administrator engage in that practice, particularly given that administrator is a Black woman herself," she told NBC News. "As an administrator, she should be well-versed in the law and know that you can't treat one group of students based on race differently than other groups of students."
So far, Sharyn Briscoe has yet to comment. CNN reports that the school has a total of 599 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. In total, 60 of the students who attend the school are Black. The second grade has 98 students total, with 81 of them being white.
The situation raises so many questions — but Kila is hoping that with her complaint, she can help find new leadership at Mary Lin Elementary. In her letter to the Office for Civil Rights, she made a request: "I would like APS (Atlanta Public Schools) to remove the entire leadership team at Mary Lin," adding, "The Administrators there have demonstrated poor professional judgement by instituting this discriminatory practice and subsequently engaging in retaliatory acts. As such, they should not be trusted to make educational decisions for my child or any other children."
Bringing up the blatant act of segregation was something that caused Kila additional heartache, as well. After she spoke up, she reported that both she and her husband suffered from "retaliatory acts," per CNN. Her husband worked as a psychologist at the school, and he was reportedly asked to transfer.
No matter what, it's incredible that Kila stood up and did what was right. If she hadn't, it's possible this outdated and dangerous method of separation would have continued on, as it's often tough to call out moves made by authority figures. Kila refused to be silenced, and she did what she could to make sure her children got the same educational options as everyone else.
